Friday, April 14, 2017

WGN America Cancels 'Outsiders' After 2 Seasons

WGN America has canceled its original drama series Outsiders after two seasons, it was announced today. The drama will air its final episode on Tuesday, April 25.

"After three years of investing in marquee, brand-defining dramas, WGN America has successfully expanded its audience, its reach and its presence in the minds of viewers," said Peter Kern, President and CEO, Tribune Media. "In our next phase, we intend to expand our original and unique content to continue growing our relevance and appeal to the widest possible audience. To achieve this, we will be reallocating our resources to a more diverse programming strategy and to new structures, enabling us to expand both the quantity and breadth of content aired by WGN America. This move is designed to deliver even more value to our advertising and distribution partners. To free up the resources to reach this goal, we will unfortunately not be renewing Outsiders. We are grateful to our production partners at Sony Pictures Television and the terrifically talented people who made the show possible."

Peter Mattei created the series. He executive produced with Paul Giamatti, Adam Bernstein, Peter Tolan, Michael Wimer and Dan Carey. Sony Pictures Television, Tribune Studios and Fedora Entertainment produce. Sony is expected to shop the series to other outlets in the coming weeks.

The cancellation of Outsiders comes as a surprise as it ranks as WGN America's most-watched scripted original with an average of 2 million total viewers, when factoring in delayed viewing.